U.S. college student stabbed to death in Netherlands

Updated on: December 14, 2018 / 11:03 AM
/ CBS/AP

U.S. student stabbed to death in Netherlands

An American student living in the Dutch port city of Rotterdam has been stabbed to death in her apartment and police arraigned a man suspected in the slaying. Police spokeswoman Miriam Boers confirmed Friday that the victim was 21-year-old Sarah Papenheim.

CBS Minnesota reported that Papenheim was a psychology student from Andover, Minnesota, studying at Rotterdam's Erasmus University. Rotterdam police said in a statement that she died Wednesday after a stabbing incident in her home near the university.

The 23-year-old suspect, whose name hasn't been released, was arrested the same day at the railway station in the southern city of Eindhoven. He was arraigned in a closed-door hearing before an investigating judge later on Friday, who ordered him detained for two more weeks while the investigation continued.

According to local media the suspect in Papenheim's murder was her roommate, but police have not confirmed the man's identity.

In spite of her young age, CBS Minnesota reported that Papenheim had become quite well known in the state's music scene as an accomplished drummer. Veteran drummer and guitarist Jellybean Johnson, who played with Minneapolis legend Prince, told CBS Minnesota on Thursday that he was so impressed with Papenheim's power on the drums when he saw her play in the city that he nicknamed her "Thumper."

A file photo of Sarah Papenheim with friend and musical mentor Jellybean Johnson.

He became a mentor and friend to the younger musician, and told CBS Minnesota he as "still numb" over her the death of "a great spirit."

"I still can't believe that something this bad happened to her, especially, because she was such a great kid," Johnson said.

Papenheim moved to the Netherlands to study psychology, with a focus on suicide, several years after her own brother took his life.

"My only two kids, and I've lost them both," Papenheim's mother, Donee Odegard, told the Star Tribune newspaper in Minneapolis. She said her daughter, had been due back in the United States and had a gig booked with a local musician on Dec. 22.

Fikret Egemen, the owner of a kebab restaurant where Papenheim worked part time, fought back tears as he recalled how she immediately fit into his team when she started working for him in September.

"From day one, she picked up everything. She was like family," he said. "She always worked with a smile, all day long, no problem. Angel."

The university's school of social and behavioral sciences, where Papenheim studied, organized a meeting for friends and teachers.

"We encourage our students and staff not to let each other be alone in this difficult time and to get in touch with student advisers and psychologists if they want to," the university said.

A GoFundMe page has been set up to help Papenheim's family raise the money necessary to bring their daughter's body home to Minnesota.